Shopping, tourism and retailing in Singapore

Abstract

The paper discusses aspects of the relationship between shopping and tourism with particular reference to city destinations. The East Asian example of Singapore, a popular centre for shopping, is used as a case study and shopping is shown to be a lucrative tourist activity in the city state where there is a large and varied supply of retailers. Official tourism marketing and development strategies acknowledge the contribution of shopping which plays an important role in plans for future growth. Singapore also displays some weaknesses as a shopping destination, however, and the question of competition emerges as critical. Although highly distinctive, the Singapore experience yields insights into shopping as a tourist attraction which has wider implications and a model of factors determining success in attracting and satisfying shopping tourists is presented.

Keywords:

• shopping
• tourism
• cities
• Singapore